


Kosmo, the Baby Hippo

by Strange and Intoxicating -rsa- (strangeandintoxicating)



Series: Teenage Dream [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, soft dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25708177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangeandintoxicating/pseuds/Strange%20and%20Intoxicating%20-rsa-
Summary: Keith stared at the door behind Shiro, then back to the hippo and the small crowd oohing and aahing. “We can’t just— Shiro, we can’t sneak in there!”Shiro turned back and winked before lifting Keith’s hand to his mouth for a kiss. “Who said anything about sneaking?”Or: Shiro takes Keith on a date to the zoo.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Teenage Dream [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864480
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Kosmo, the Baby Hippo

**Author's Note:**

> Have you all seen that video of Kristen Bell and the sloth? 
> 
> Yeah.

“You’re telling me you’ve never been to the _zoo_?” 

The way Shiro said the words, somewhere between horror and amusement with just a dash of disbelief, made Keith look away, feeling his cheeks heat under Shiro’s stare.

It wasn’t the first time that Shiro had looked at him that way— the first time had been at the Sigma Nu Pi party, their first _date_ , when Keith had admitted he didn’t have the faintest idea what beer pong was or why Shiro was the reigning champ in the entire frat. 

Of course, that night had ended with Shiro pulling him in for a kiss, their breath faintly tasting of beer and heat after they’d tag-teamed the shit out of Lotor and Lance, Shiro’s frat brothers. 

Keith could still feel the kiss on his lips, the wolf-whistles from the other party-goers as Shiro slid his hands through Keith’s hair, pulling him in to deepen the kiss. The brush of a tongue against his lip, the strength of Shiro’s hand at the back of his neck while the other pressed up against the small of his back to lean him backward— it had been almost too much, and even thinking about it made Keith’s face heat. 

When Shiro had pulled back from their kiss to the sound of cheering, Shiro had looked at him with the same look when Keith had mumbled, “Wh— what was that for?” 

“For helping me win, of course.” Shiro gave him that _smile_ , the one that would have made Keith’s heart melt, as he pulled off his backwards snapback, laying it on top of Keith’s head.

Still, there was definitely something endearing in the look, and Keith couldn’t help but lean in to kiss him then, just as he did now. 

“Nope. Never been to the zoo. Never really saw the point.” He didn’t mention that he’d never been to the zoo because both his parents were too busy saving the world that they’d never had the opportunity, and by the time they’d gotten more free time he was too old for zoos, anyway. It wasn’t like he could go by himself, even though he’d honestly been dying to go. There was a specific exhibit, but… 

He didn’t want Shiro to think he was a loser. 

Still, the way that Shiro was looking at him, coupled with the hand wrapped possessively around his waist as his… boyfriend?... led him to his motorcycle leaving no room for guesswork as to where they were heading. 

“Shiro— we don’t have t—” 

“We’re going to the zoo,” Shiro replied with a smile that made Keith feel as though his tongue was tied and his knees were weak. God, it wasn’t fair for Shiro to look so goddamn _gorgeous_. “You said it was my turn to pick the place for our date.” 

“Yes, but—” 

Shiro shook his head as he pulled out the extra helmet hidden in his saddlebag, plopping it on top of Keith’s head. He was quick in fastening the clip under Keith’s neck, letting his fingers run over an errant hair before fucking _winking_ at Keith. “C’mon, Baby. I’ve got something special planned. You trust me?” 

All Shiro had to do was blink his eyes like— like _that_ — and Keith would have pulled the stars out of the sky for the other man.

And… he’d called Keith _Baby_. 

Who could say no to that? 

“Of course I trust you.” 

So, with that and a butterfly kiss against his cheek, Keith found himself at the Altea Zoo, staring at… 

“Hippos?” 

Keith felt the heat on his cheeks reach a fever-heat as he glanced over at Shiro, who ran a hand through his hair with that cute little smile that gave way to the dimple on his cheek. 

“Okay, so. Don’t get mad, okay?” 

Keith stared at the hippo in the watering hole, barely registering Shiro’s voice. How— how did he possibly know? Keith had never mentioned to _anyone_ that his favorite animal was a hippo…

But, God, looking at its cute, wrinkly face made Keith’s entire heart melt. How could something that could kill a full-grown man by accident be so damn _cute_?

A baby would have been cuter— hell, the world-famous baby Kosmo would have been amazing, but… still.

Hippo.

“—earth to Keith,” Shiro said, breaking the trance-like grip the hippo had on Keith’s attention. “You there?” 

Keith snapped back to look at Shiro. “H— huh?” 

“I said, Katie’s working today and she told me she could do her big brother a solid,” Shiro said with a smile as he wrapped one arm around Keith’s shoulder as he slowly tugged Keith toward an enclave, twisting vines and bramble hiding it from the casual observer. “C’mon, before anyone sees.” 

Keith stared at the door behind Shiro, then back to the hippo and the small crowd oohing and aahing. “We can’t just— Shiro, we can’t sneak in there!” 

Shiro turned back and _winked_ before lifting Keith’s hand to his mouth for a kiss. “Who said anything about _sneaking_?” 

Unsure, Keith followed Shiro (or, more aptly, was tugged) to the door. Shiro gave a sharp knock— once, twice, and then one more for good measure.

“Do you know anything about baby Kosmo?” Shiro asked then, as if the entire world hadn’t been obsessed with the preemie hippo. Keith had watched every single video more than _once_ (who was he kidding— more than a dozen times) and baby Kosmo was one of only half a dozen social media accounts that he followed on his 0 follower twitter account. 

“Uh,” was all Keith said as the door swung open. 

“You’re lucky I love you,” was all the girl— Katie? — said as she turned and gestured for Keith and Shiro to follow her. “My Chirstmas present better be fucking _awesome_ this year.” 

Keith felt his pulse quicken as Shiro tugged him further into the back room of the hippo enclosure. A few faces peered up at them, but no one seemed to particularly mind. 

“Couple of house rules— don’t touch unless he _wants_ you to touch. Don’t feed him anything unless I give it to you. And… are you really going to wear those jeans in the pool?” 

Keith stared at the girl, mouth falling open. “Uh— what?” Keith’s voice caught in his throat, but the girl didn’t seem to pay him any mind. She gestured to the kiddie pool in the room, as though it answered everything.

It answered nothing. 

Katie shrugged. “Well, keep your pants on, then. I don’t need to see your tighty-whities.” Then, with a little snicker, Katie pointed at Shiro. “And you keep your damn pants on, too.” 

“I will. Scout’s honor.” Shiro held two fingers to his head in a mock-salute before lifting Keith’s hand to his lips for a soft, sweet kiss. 

“You weren’t a scout.” Katie rolled her eyes, but with a clap of her hands one of the other workers opened the door. “Losers. I swear. Baby Kosmo makes everyone weird, I swear.” 

But Keith could barely hear anything because— 

“Baby Kosmo?” he croaked.

Keith’s hand tightened around Shiro’s as baby Kosmo, the sweetest and most pure seventy-pound ball of baby hippo Keith had ever seen in his entire life, bounded in. He headbutted against Keith’s legs before spinning, gently nipping at his leg with his toothless mouth. 

Keith did as any self-respecting man would have done: immediately, and without prompting, burst into tears as Kosmo flopped onto his belly at Keith’s feet. 

“Jeez, you weren’t kidding about him loving Kosmo.”

Keith’s entire reputation, his hard-ass demeanor… all of it was broken the moment the sweet hippo looked up at him with his soft, gentle eyes. 

But Shiro didn’t laugh, instead gently pulling Keith down to the ground, taking their entwined hands to press against the hippo’s soft, wet skin. 

If Keith hadn’t already fallen in love with Takashi Shirogane-Holt, that would have been the moment that cinched it. As it was, it just made Keith all the more certain that this man, one who knew about his love for baby hippos and staring at the back of Shiro’s head in class, would be the only person he ever loved.

  
  



End file.
